SD-WAN vs MPLS — konsa better hai

Imagine a Gurgaon‑based logistics startup, 150 employees, multiple branch offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Their legacy MPLS circuit is 50 Mbps, but the finance team keeps complaining about the ₹1.2 lakh monthly bill while the sales team loses deals because the cloud‑based CRM is sluggish during peak hours. The CTO starts looking for a network that can handle cloud apps, keep costs sane, and provide automatic failover.

Cost Comparison – Why SD‑WAN usually beats MPLS

Traditional MPLS pricing in India is largely based on a per‑Mbps, per‑month model that includes a hefty layer of managed transport, routing, and QoS guarantees. For a 100 Mbps MPLS pipe, you can expect an invoice of ₹30,000‑₹45,000 (GST extra), and that’s before any add‑on for security or WAN optimisation.

SD‑WAN, on the other hand, rides over broadband or even 4G/5G links that you already pay for. The service fee is a flat subscription plus a modest hardware rental. Using Tata ILL as the underlying transport (see our Leased Line page), a 100 Mbps connection costs ₹8,000 per month. Adding the iFLX SD‑WAN overlay typically adds ₹2,000‑₹4,000, giving a total well under ₹12,000.

Performance – Latency, jitter, aur bandwidth utilisation

MPLS circuits are dedicated, point‑to‑point paths that guarantee low latency (usually 20‑30 ms intra‑India). However, they are static – you cannot dynamically steer traffic based on real‑time congestion. When a branch office suddenly spikes its video‑conference traffic, the MPLS pipe may choke other critical apps.

SD‑WAN uses intelligent path selection. It continuously measures latency, jitter, and packet loss on all available links (broadband, LTE, MPLS) and routes each application on the best‑performing path. For cloud‑first workloads like SAP on Azure or Salesforce, the traffic often exits directly from the nearest broadband link, cutting down round‑trip time by 30‑40 % compared to a hub‑and‑spoke MPLS design.

Cloud Readiness – Direct‑Internet‑Access vs Hub‑and‑Spoke

Enterprises moving workloads to AWS, Azure or Google Cloud need fast, reliable internet egress. MPLS forces traffic to travel back to the central data centre before heading to the cloud – a classic “hairpin” route that adds unnecessary latency.

SD‑WAN’s Direct‑Internet‑Access (DIA) model lets each branch connect straight to the cloud over its local broadband. Combined with secure overlay (IPsec or MACsec), you get both performance and security. Our iFLX SD‑WAN solution integrates with Tata’s 99.9 % SLA leased lines, so you keep the reliability of a carrier‑grade circuit while enjoying cloud‑direct paths.

Failover & Resilience – What happens when a link dies?

With MPLS, a single circuit failure means total outage for all sites until the carrier restores the link – often 2‑4 hours for a non‑critical pipe. Some providers offer redundant MPLS, but that doubles cost.

SD‑WAN automatically detects link failure (sub‑second detection) and shifts traffic to the next best link – be it a 4G hotspot or a secondary broadband line. The transition is seamless for end‑users. Additionally, you can configure active‑active load‑balancing to utilise both links simultaneously, effectively increasing aggregate bandwidth.

Migration Guide – From MPLS to SD‑WAN in 5 Steps

1. Assess Current Landscape

Map every site, bandwidth requirement, and critical application. Use tools like traceroute or latency monitors to capture baseline performance. Our free site survey (see blog for case studies) helps you get an exact quote within 2 hours.

2. Design Hybrid Architecture

Start with a hybrid model – keep MPLS for mission‑critical voice while overlaying SD‑WAN for data and cloud traffic. This reduces risk and lets you test policies site‑by‑site.

3. Provision Underlying Transport

Order the required bandwidth from Tata ILL (e.g., 100 Mbps for Delhi office). Remember the static IP is included, which simplifies firewall rules for SaaS apps.

4. Deploy Edge Appliances

Install the iFLX edge device at each branch. Our 24x7 NOC will configure the device remotely, apply QoS profiles, and integrate with your existing firewall.

5. Cut‑over & Optimise

Schedule a low‑traffic window, switch primary traffic to SD‑WAN, and monitor using the iFLX dashboard. Fine‑tune policies based on real‑time metrics. Once stable, you can phase out MPLS circuits to save cost.

When to Still Consider MPLS

If your business runs latency‑sensitive, on‑premise ERP over a private WAN, or you have regulatory mandates requiring a dedicated carrier network, MPLS may still be relevant. However, most Indian enterprises now benefit from the agility and price advantage of SD‑WAN, especially when paired with Tata’s 99.9 % uptime SLA and 24x7 NOC support.